Pyrophoric lighter



Nov. 28, 1955 H. CHEN 2,531,554

PYROPHORIC LIGHTER Filed July 11, 1949 1% Jmdi, MW w flfforneys.

Patented Nov. 28, 1950 OFFICE PYROPHORIC LIGHTER Henry Chen, Kowloon, Hong Kong Application July 11, 1949, Serial No. 104,053 In Great Britain July 30, 1948 This invention relates to pyrophoric lighters for cigarettes and the like comprising a liquid fuel container, a wick and pyrophoric igniting means including a friction wheel and a spring-loaded pyrophoric element or flint.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved pyrophoric lighter of the type referred to having improved means for economising the fuel, in particular by subdividing the fuel container into a reservoir chamber and an absorben packed chamber, communicating by means of an improved type of valve arrangement.

A particular object of the invention is to provide means whereby communication from the reservoir to the absorbentechamber is positively prevented as long as a protective cover for the igniting means is closed and also when the cover is fully open, so that fuel can only pass from the reservoir to the absorbent-chamber during the actions of opening and closing the cover.

Another object of the invention is to provide such cover with a snap-over action biasing it to both closed and fully open positions, and at the same time to eliminate the need for a separate cover spring the snap-over spring bias being furnished by a valve-closure spring.

Yet another object is the provision of an atmospheric valve for the reservoir operating concurrently With a valve controlling communication between the reservoir and absorbent-chamber, opening of the valves being eiiected by a common operating member and closure of the valves being independently effected by spring means so as to ensure that seating of either valve does not prevent the other from meeting its seating.

Further objects of the invention include improved methods of construction whereby the main objects are attained without sacrifice of robustness and simplicity of structure, ease of manufacture, reliability, and facility of operation.

How these objects and others as may herein after appear may be attained by the present invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims, will appear from the following 2 Claims. (Cl. 67-71) Figure 5 is a top plan view of the lighter;

Figure 6 shows it in section on the line 6-6 of Figure 3; and

Figure 7 is a partial View in elevation, as in Figure 1, partly sectioned as in Figure 3, showing the cover half-open and the valve opened, and showing the cover fully open (in dotted lines).

In the drawings, II is the lighter body, I2 is a flame cover hinged to the body by screw I0, i3 is a steel friction wheel, it a wick, l5 a flint" housed in a bore 9 formed in the body l6 and pressed against the wheel it by a spring IS.

The interior of the body is divided by means of a partition 29 into two chambers 21, 28 provided with filling opening closed by screw-plugs 25, 25. The lower chamber 28 is packed with wadding (not shown) and receives the lower end of the wick M which is enclosed in a tube 3 3 where it passes through the upper chamber 21. The upper end of tube 30 forms a nipple from which the uper end of the wick projects and is exposed near the friction Wheel I3.

lln the top of the body is an opening provided with a nipple ll communicating with chamber 21. The lower end of nipple I! is shaped to provide a seating for a poppet Ill formed on a valve stem it which slides in nipple I? and terminates in an enlarged head 13 which abuts on the underside of the cover l2. The poppet it constitutes an atmospheric valve for the chamber 21 and the stem i8 is grooved at 18 to provide an air passage through the nipple ll which constitutes the atmospheric vent. The stem i8 extends below the poppet lil and its lower end is guided in a nipple formed on the upper end of a tube 29 located in the lower chamber 28. This nipple provides communication between the loW- er and upper chambers and forms the lower abutment of a spring l9 Whose upper end abuts on the underside of the poppet Ili The internal shoulder at the lower end of this nipple provides a seating for a ball 2! held onto its seating by a spring 22 enclosed in the tube 20 and constituting a valve controlling the admission of fuel from chamber 2'! to chamber 23 which communicates with the interior of tube 20 by a small passage 23. Spring 22 is retained by a screwplug 24 and flow of fuel through the nipple forming the top of tube 20 past the stem I8 is accommodated by grooves I 8 in the stem l8.

When the cover I2 is closed there is a small clearance between the head 18 and the underside of the cover, the poppet l8 being held on its seating by spring 19 and there is a clearance between the lower end of stem l8 and ball 2| which is held on its seating by spring 22, so that fuel cannot escape from chamber 2'! into chamber 28 and the atmospheric vent of chamber 2'! is closed.

On half-opening the cover l2 its rear corner l2 depresses head 18', thus depressing stem [8 and poppet I8 to open the atmospheric vent of chamber 2'! and pushing ball 2! ofi its seating to allow fuel to flow from chamber 27 to chamber 28 (see Figure '7). On fully opening the cover its fiat outer end I 2 comes into register with the stem-head I8 allowing the stem l8 to rise again under the action of spring [9 and close the atmospheric valve 18 and enabling spring 22 to return ball 2| onto its seating, thus sealing chamber 28 from chamber 27. The fully open position of the cover is shown in dotted line at l2 in Figure 7.

The pressure of spring l9 acting through the stem-head l8 urges the cover l2 into the closed or fully open position according to the covers position relative to the dead-centre position in which it is half-open as shown in full line in Figure 7.

This gives a snap-over action and consequently when the cover is opened the valves I8 2| are opened momentarily, and the same thing occurs when the cover is closed, so that at each opening and closing of the cover a small dose of fuel is transferred from chamber 21 to chamber 28. At all other times the reservoir chamber 27 is sealed. In this way loss of fuel by evaporation or leakage is minimised.

I claim:

1. A lighter for cigarettes and the like including a hollow body; a partition subdividing the interior of the body into two chambers, one of which constitutes a reservoir for liquid fuel, and the other of which is packed with an absorbent substance, said partition having an opening therein; a spark-producing device mounted on the exterior of the body and comprising a springloaded pyrophoric element and a rotatable friction wheel engaging therewith; a wick having an exposed end adjacent said spark-producing device with the other end of said wick received in the absorbent-packed chamber; an atmospheric valve communicating with said reservoir chamber; a valve controlling said opening in said partition; a hinged cover mounted on said body and protecting said spark-producing means when closed; a common valve operating member having an end portion extending outside the body and engageable by the cover to move both of said valves to open position when said cover is in an intermediate position between its closed and fully open positions while allowing both valves to close when said cover is in either of the last named positions; said atmospheric valve including a poppet-type closure member integral with the valve operating member, and the valve controlling the opening in the partition separating the chambers including a closure member constituted by a loose ball engageable by said valve operating member; independent springs for closing the poppet-type and ball closure members; and two combined seating and guiding members mounted, respectively, in an external wall of the body and in the opening in the partition separating said two chambers and providing seatings for the poppet-type closure member and ball, respectively, said valve operating member being in the form of a stem slidably supported in both of the combined seating and guide members.

2. A lighter for cigarettes and the like as defined in claim 1 in which the said independent springs comprise a first compression spring having one end abutting the combined seating and guide member in said opening in said partition and its other end engaging said poppet-type closure member, and a second compression spring having one end engaging the ball closure member; and in which the combined seating and guide member in said opening in said partition has a tubular extension enclosing said second compression spring and providing an abutment for the other end of said second compression spring.

HENRY CHEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,584,258 Thorens May 11, 1926 2,444,956 Schmitt July 13, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 79,997 Switzerland June 18, 1918 277,775 Italy Sept. 19, 1931 586,263 Great Britain Mar. 12, 1947 

